Octo Initiative

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Octo

 

For those of you who do not yet know, these lovely therapeutic octopuses are the best friends of premature babies who are very fragile and need extra care and tons of love! Want to know more about this initiative?

 

How did it all start?

 

On their first journey as parents, a young Danish couple found out very soon how fragile life can be when their baby was born premature. For the first month their little one lived inside an incubator surrounded by tubes that supported his life and wellbeing. One of the biggest challenges was to keep their baby from pulling out the tubes, which was a real concern since that could damage his health and compromise his life. Parents then decided to give a little octopus shape toy to its son which proved to be an absolute success! Their baby no longer clung into the tubes, instead he would hold the octopus tentacles and was now more calm and relaxed due to the similarity of the tentacles touch to the mother´s umbilical cord they hold in the womb. 

Picking up from several success stories like this, the Danish Octo Project was born. With the aim to supply hospitals with these little octopuses and improve the chances of survival of premature babies. A group of volunteers was gathered to crochet colourful octopuses which were carefully made with the highest quality cotton crochet yarn and then delivered to sixteen hospitals in Denmark and Iceland.

 

The unquestionable proof of these little octopuses therapeutic effects transformed this local project into a worldwide movement with the support of local organizations in several countries: Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, Italy, Turkey, Croatia, Israel, Portugal, Spain, Australia and the United States.

 

How can you contribute?

 

There are several ways in which you can do this:

     - As a volunteer you can crochet your own octopuses and supply them to your local organisation, which will organise the sterilisation and the octopuses delivery to the hospitals in need;

     - or you can donate product or money to your local institution

 

If such an organization does not exist yet in your country, you do not need permission to start an Octo Project on your own, although you would highly benefit from the knowledge and support from the original organisation. If you have any questions on this you can contact: danishoctos@spruttgruppen.dk

 

Which local organisations does Anchor support?

Anchor currently supports the following organizations within the following countries:

      - Portugal

          Projecto Migos      contact: geral@migos.pt

          Polvo de amor       contact: umpolvodeamor@gmail.com

    - Spain

         Noupops                contact: noupops@gmail.com

    - Italy

        Cuore de Maglia association      contact: cuore@cuoredimaglia.it

 

Which is the most recommend yarn?

As premature babies are very fragile it is important to ensure that the yarn used is of the highest quality.  Anchor Creativa yarn is a 100% Cotton, lightweight, hypoallergenic, soft and comfortable yarn, perfect for babies and toddler's clothes and toys. Being a natural fibre, it is also breathable and very easy to handle. Available in a wide range of colours, all you need is to choose your favourite colour mix!

 

What do you need to start?

You can start by downloading one of our 7 Octopuses patterns. A choice of seven little friends each one with their special colour mix and their own personality. Or you can use your imagination and find your own colour mix tailor-made to your baby´s very unique personality!

  •      Materials required:
  •       Yarn: 2 Anchor Creativa balls and 1 Anchor Stranded Cotton skein
  •       Filing: Silicone fibre (due to its resistance to temperatures of up to 170ºC)
  •       Needles: 1 crochet needle: 2,5-3mm and 1 wool needle

     Or you can buy one of our Octopus kit, which include all materials needed to complete one octopus.

 

Octopus kit

 

Enjoy crafting your own octopus!

 

 

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